As part of the Clean Growth Strategy, a blueprint for Britain’s low carbon future, the Government has set targets for all social housing in England to achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C by 2035. It’s estimated that approximately 44% of social housing in England is currently below this rating, and so there is a significant amount of work required if this target is to be reached.
Energy Performance Certificates rate the energy efficiency of a property on a scale of A to G. Properties that fall below the C level will require an in-depth assessment to determine the work needed to improve the home’s performance. These required works may include a fabric-first approach to optimisation, improvements to the existing heating system or implementation of lower energy lighting solutions.
Establishing the necessary works presents social housing landlords with a significant challenge – particularly for those with property portfolios containing many thousands of homes. To support landlords in their goal of meeting the EPC C challenge, Morgan Sindall Property Services (MSPS) has developed a brand new software solution, Carbon Zero. This cutting-edge platform collates data on each property from several key sources and dramatically reduces the time it takes to rate a portfolio. Carbon Zero then generates customisable reports, based on desired criteria, which details the work required to improve the EPC rating of the property to the desired level. The solution can also create a breakdown of the budget, time and labour associated with the proposed improvements so that landlords have a complete action plan to meet the challenge and are in a strong position ahead of the 2035 deadline.
Carbon Zero also enables landlords and property management teams to filter the reports by preferences such as location, available budgets or homes with the lowest EPC rating, for example. The work is then optimises these preferences and reschedules the works accordingly, delivering a new plan and cost breakdown so landlords can ensure their proposals are within the necessary timeline and budget based on the legislative demands.
Carbon Zero can also be validated using SmartHTC and goldeni to evidence that the property achieves the required EPC rating once the suggested works have been completed. SmartHTC enables landlords to measure the actual thermal performance of property pre and post-implementation of the plan. Additionaly goldeni’s discreet sensors can provide real-time data on the internal conditions of the home. This information can be used to verify that the efficiency potential of the portfolio has been reached and identify any further improvements that may be made to develop more sustainable, healthy and efficient homes.
For more information please contact the team.
